Glencore’s next move could be agriculture, not iron ore

With only one acquisition in the past 11 months, Glencore's billionaire chief Ivan Glasenberg is in the midst of a deal-making drought, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

As the industry awaits his next move, the focus has been on whether he'll make another run for the world's second-biggest miner Rio Tinto, which spurned an approach last year.

Underpinned by a stellar $US800 million increase in profits from the division last year, agriculture may offer a more tempting expansion opportunity for the company.

Copper rises as Shanghai inventories fall

Copper prices jumped to a more than two-month high on Friday after Chinese inventories fell for the first time in two months, a signal that demand in the top metals consumer is slowly recovering after the Lunar New Year holiday, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Prices also gained support from supply concerns as a blockade of the Grasberg mine in Indonesia marked its fifth day.

Plans for long haul with controversial Pilbara monorail

Rich-lister Chris Ellison’s firm belief that the iron ore price will fall below $US50 a tonne and not recover easily is motivating his mining services company, Mineral Resources, to diversify into infrastructure with a divisive monorail system in the Pilbara, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Bulk Ore Transport System (BOTS), revealed by Mineral Resources in its half-year results last month, aims to dramatically reduce the cost of hauling bulk commodities to port, with an initial focus on iron ore, despite the price languishing at six-year lows.